User Reviews

Following a mysterious accident, a researcher looking into the connection between the incident and a mysterious cult gets several survivors into a video chat to get the inside scoop on the situation but the longer it goes on the more they realize that a demonic spirit may have targeted everyone.

Overall, this was a pretty decent overall genre effort. One of the bigger factors going for this one is the strong setup that enables quite a lot to like about it. The initial starting point here with the tragic fire and explosion that alerts everyone around the world to learn of their shady backstory and history while also bringing about the survivors who are at the focal point of the film the rest of the way with the resulting interview taking place over the video-chat that serves the rest of the film. This comes together quite nicely with the type of action shown here with the interviews taking on a demented air including the belief that the creatures are after them once they've been released and going around stalking them which has some genuinely enjoyable supernatural shenanigans at play when they appear to torment the others in the chat that gets involved into a series of impressive stalking scenes featuring the spirit manipulating the environment to provide some decent enough scenes. These are enough to make the film rather likable although there are some big issues keeping this one down. The biggest drawback to the film is the most obvious factor present in the presentation of everything taking place over a video chat for the near majority of the film. This reduces the film to a simplistic video call that has people simply sitting around their computer and discussing the history of the cult, their arrival in the society, and what happened the night of the original accident which is just not that interesting to see carry out. As it slowly becomes apparent that there's not much else going on and it's only going to be this split-screen multi-person chat presentation and only getting brief glimpses of other figures gathered together in the brief segments explaining everything, there's not much investment that happens in here which is what occurs once the creature starts to appear providing the few brief instances of change compared to the rest of the action here but does stand out quite obviously. The other issue here is the overall cheap and cheesy look this all has as a result which could be a huge turn-off but otherwise, it's not as big an issue as the presentation.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

This was a screener that was sent over to me via Scott from Keith Sherman & Associates. I saw that this was a 2023 release and in the horror genre, so I was intrigued to check this out. It helped as well that this starred Keith David and Bruce Davison. Both are actors that I like and have seen quite a bit. Other than that, I came into this one blind to not influence my thoughts.

Synopsis: when Dr. Joseph Cawl (Davison) and members of his Hidden Wisdom cult die in a mysterious fire, survivors contact a paranormal expert to find the truth. What they discover makes them the next target of a deranged killer.

We start this watching a livestream by someone called 'Bar-Hunter'. It appears they get drunk and then do a show. This one we are seeing is different. He captures an explosion in the distance. He's then attacked by what looks to be a shadow with glowing eyes. It disappears. The movie then gives us backstory about Dr. Joseph Cawl, the cult he's the head of called the Hidden Wisdom, his fall out with a colleague called Dr. Leonard Bertram (David) and this is all done through what looks to be a documentary on A&E or the Discovery Channel.

For what we're getting here, Dr. Amara Rowan (Selena Anduze) is going to do a documentary about the cult and its survivors. She is a good person to take this on as she has won awards. Her mother was also a member of a reincarnation cult so she has interesting insight. She is working with Peter (Jim Thalman) who set up the call with the survivors. He's also the technology guy who works with the camera. He's in the same room as Dr. Rowan to ensure everything runs smooth.

They're using an online call and this becomes a desktop filmed movie for these characters. The call starts with Denise (Ester Tania), Keith (Max MacKenzie), Henry (Ian Whitt) and Tina (Clarie Mack). They were all at Dr. Cawl's house the night of the tragedy. For different reasons, they escaped. They tell their history with Dr. Cawl and how they came to be part of this group through the interview with Amara. As the night goes on, Zoe (Briana Femia) also joins the call. She was the right hand to Dr. Cawl after his fallout with Dr. Bertram. She helped to assemble this group for the experiments and helped these other cult members overcome different things.

The movie then fills in more about Hidden Wisdom, how they came to be and what they were trying to do. The former members are nervous though. They believe something is after them. We see these shadow people outside of Amara and Peter's location. They also come after the interviewees. The goal for Amara is to clear their name as they're the prime suspects to starting the fire that killed the rest. As things go on, Amara might be the only one who can save them.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that I love the back-story here. Anything with a cult ticks my boxes. I love that this incorporates true aspects of history. Dr. Cawl believes that certain individuals have special powers. All the cult members who survived have different things. Keith experiences night terrors. Tina has another variation where she's seen shadow people since she was a child. Henry has crippling anxiety that prevents him from making decisions. A character during this brings up that they're 'mutants'. Its ironic that Davison was the evil senator in X-Men who was against the people who were different. Here he embraces them. What we have here though is explaining that certain mental illnesses might be due to power within these people that when they aren't harnessed, create problems in their normal, everyday lives. This makes me think of something like Scanners as well.

Where I want to then shift is with the idea of the shadow people. This is an entity that I think I've heard about in passing while growing up. There was an episode of podcast, Black Cat's Shadow, that did an episode on them. They've been used in movies like Come True. This tries to explain them a bit. I like that they say that these creatures go as far back as the Egyptians. The belief there was that the soul was divided into parts with the shadow being the Shuyat. They believed the shadow people were this part of the soul of the deceased who now haunt. There could be another explanation that gets brought up later. This one with the Choctaw. Their version is called Impa Shilu and are soul eaters. Regardless of the explanation, I like that we're getting lore here. That along with potentially explaining why ancient civilizations were destroyed abruptly. This cult could be trying to stop that.

Now I do have to shift to a negative, I do think this was a bit too slow. It is dialogue heavy. Since this is mostly a desktop filmed movie, we have Amara talking to the group. Spooky things are happening to them, but that doesn't happen until late. I did like the editing of footage from commercials that Dr. Cawl made or seeing a security video where he is talking to Dr. Bertram. That was good to fill in the back-story. The problem is that the story in the present is lacking to me. This is backloaded with action and I lost interest there unfortunately.

I'll then stick with filmmaking. This looks good. I wouldn't say the cinematography and look of the footage is Hollywood. It is saved by going the 'found footage' route with seeing the desktop camera footage. There is cinematic shots added in as well. The hybrid style works in the framework for me as it isn't presented one way or the other. Moving to the effects, they go CGI heavy here. They don't look great and that took me out of it. I understand they aren't working with a large budget. Even though I like the look of the shadow people, I could see seams there. They also used a lot of smoke and it doesn't hold up. Other than that, the soundtrack was fine for what was used.

Let me then end this out with the acting. Again, we are working with actors here for the most part who are amateur and haven't done a lot. David and Davison are top billed to get people to watch this. I'd say they aren't much than cameos here. How they're used though is good. Anduze is fine as our lead. I like how she factors into the climax and resolution. Tania, MacKenzie, Thalman and Femia are solid. No issues there. There were times with Whitt and Mack where their performance required a bit more emotion and it came off flat. Not enough to ruin this, but I noticed that is all. I would be interested in seeing these younger cast members in more going forward to see how they grow.

In conclusion, this one has goodwill built up with the back-story and the lore used. I love taking things from history and incorporating them like we got here. Using shadow people as our entity was good as well. This is made well enough. The hybrid style of cinematic and desktop filming was solid. There were solid performances here and a couple that came up flat a couple of times. None of that was a major issue though. The CGI didn't necessarily work for me though. Not a bad movie. I'd recommend it to those that like these lower budget, independent films. If not, I'd avoid this as it won't be for you.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.

With some nice homages to horror and thriller classics, SFX and scenes, I think it might be a sequel to another.

This is a very much covid Era filmed in a room about people in the zoom room being bored out of their mind in a zoom while ghosts zoom by. Some acting is very amateur improv-acting classes indeed.

Lots of creative ideas put together, and thrown against the screen, some stick, some don't.

I'd say it's something similar to the great classic "From Beyond", but in a new way.

Overall, a very enjoyable, albeit slow by moments, ride.

This is a padding sentence to reach the necessary length of review, so that it will appear.

There's a lot to like here, despite some poor acting and poor dialogue - there was a good, cheesy storyline with some welcome campiness to lighten the mood, but the film should have stuck to the screen life scenario.

I am a fan of found footage films, and can find something to like in almost all of them, just for the fact that they follow the found footage tried and true formula, so the entire premise is that the viewer becomes part of the action and there is more involvement and immediacy in the storyline.

Had this film stuck to that formula, mainly the screen life model, this would have been a lot more fun than it was.

"From the Shadows" is a fresh B horror film that boasts a talented ensemble cast, including the seasoned actors Bruce Davison and Keith David, alongside the capable Selena Anduze and a band of young talented newcomers. The film's plot revolves around the mysterious demise of Dr. Joseph Cawl, played with gravitas by Bruce Davison, and his Hidden Wisdom cult members in a tragic fire. Survivors of the incident enlist the help of paranormal expert Selena Anduze to unravel the truth, only to find themselves targeted by a deranged killer portrayed by the incomparable Keith David.

The movie has an intriguing premise, which kicks off with a harrowing incident and transitions into video-chat interviews that steadily build a sense of unease. The supernatural elements and the stalking scenes are well-executed, and special effects makeup work by Vincent J. Guastini (who previously worked on Keith David's Requiem for a Dream) adds authenticity to the eerie nd jarring moments.

While the film does rely heavily on video-chat conversations for a significant part of its storytelling, it manages to keep viewers engaged with clever editing and snippets from Dr. Cawl's documentaries and security footage. The movie also delves into the history and mythology of shadowy figures, adding depth to the narrative.

Overall, "From the Shadows" is a solid horror flick that benefits from the performances of its seasoned actors, Bruce Davison and Keith David, and the capable lead, Selena Anduze. It offers an engaging story, albeit with some slower moments, and delivers effective scares. The supporting cast of cult members deserves mentioning as Ian Whitt's jolting screams combined with gruesome special effects makeup work, as well as Max MacKenzie's humor and charm help the scenes otherwise heavy with exposition really pop. All the younger actors really complement the veterans and create a diverse and compelling ensemble wreathed by a nightmare world of classic horror visual effects.

I may have been waiting for a this movie for awhile. I absolutely Loved it !

Loved the acting,the actors, the Special Effects, the story, oh the story is amazing ! Haven't seen a big budget movie that has gripped me and caught me so much for a long while, like this movie has. Some big budget movies these days, barely a story, or just a bad story, bur rely on on over the top special Effects to win the masses. This movie, amazing story, very good effects, acting , and all excellently done.

This movie , as said caught me so much, almost unreal so. Some words , like the full words, but I'll abbreviate, C. R. and A. And other parts and story , held me so much. Don't listen to the drivel, the bad, that others say , this is movie is so very good.